An Old Witch's Life and Sorrows
by chocoluvr
Summary: As Augusta Longbottom looks back on her life, she sees her two sons who were born very different, but ended up alike.  She also reflects on her relationship with her husband and grandson as well.  Mild DH Spoiler Warning


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter.

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In a graveyard in Lancashire, England no one paid attention to the old woman who was visiting three graves and pondering about how two brother's lives could start out differently but with both of them ending up living the same way. When her first son was born she was so proud of being a parent the first time, even though he came two months early. As a result of his premature birth she was told that he would never live a normal life, it would be better if she sent him away and secretly visit him once in a while, though her husband visited him in the hospital with her but no one outside of their close circle knew about Charlie her son. So Charlie was destined to spend out the rest of his life at St. Mungo's since they were a wizarding family and that's where wizarding families placed their family members who had severe disabilities where they couldn't live on their own.

When I found out that I was pregnant with our second child, I was so scared that he would be born prematurely and that she would have to send him away too. I was thrilled when her son Frank was born one week late and he was a normal healthy baby. I swore that she wouldn't take him to visit his brother until he was older, and she hoped that the two brothers would get along even though they couldn't live together. As Frank got older, he wondered why his brother couldn't live with them like other children's brothers. I had to explain to him that he was born a special boy and that he had to live in a special place, of course that didn't fool him. He wanted to know why St. Mungo's was considered a special place to live. She told him that he was born not being able to live on his own and he couldn't communicate with his family. He accepted that fact, even though when he started Hogwarts he was upset at first that he could only visit Charles on school holidays. Edmond and I later found out that Frank didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts that he even had a brother, she was sad that Frank would be embarrassed about his own brother that he wouldn't even tell anyone about him. I didn't know about this until they ran into Xenophilius Lovegood, Frank's best friend, at St. Mungo's and he had acted shocked at the news that Frank even had a brother, especially one like Charlie. Of course when Frank arrived at his house with his parents, I accused him of being embarrassed by his brother, since he was told that there was nothing for him to be ashamed of. Frank was also told that Charlie couldn't help the way that he was born, just like Frank couldn't help that he was top in all of his classes at Hogwarts. Edmond and I were proud of our son Frank when he graduated from Hogwarts and was accepted into Auror training; there he met a lovely young woman named Alice Appleton whom he eventually married.

When he introduced Alice to his brother, she wasn't as scared of him as Frank was afraid of. Of course with them being Aurors she might have run into someone like Charles in their work together. Once we had left the ward, Alice asked if Death Eaters had caused him to be like that looking at her fiancée with new appreciation in her eyes. Of course Frank looked embarrassed as he told her that Charles was born that way and lived his entire life in the locked ward at St. Mungo's. When he told her that, she found a new respect for him for having to live with the knowledge that he had a brother that couldn't live with him and his family. I was proud of Alice who vowed to always take care of Charles, even if Frank couldn't. When they got married later on that year, I was proud that Frank didn't let Charles get in the way of him having a normal life, with a job and wife that he loved. A few years later when Neville was born, I instantly fell in love with him though Edmond thought that I was going overboard with him. My joy was short lived though when Neville was just a few months old, that Frank and Alice had to go into hiding because there was a prophecy made that put Neville's life in danger. I understood, though I was disappointed that I couldn't see them for an indefinite length of time and that they couldn't visit Charles like they normally do once a week when their schedules allow them to.

A year later, I was relieved when Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, which meant that Frank, Alice and even little Neville were safe. I didn't join in the celebrations that followed because I felt that it would be in bad taste to celebrate a young couple's death, no matter what it meant to the wizarding world and it meant that Frank and Alice were alive. The next day Frank and Alice took Neville to see his Uncle Charlie for the first time and Edmond and I got to see him for the first time since they had gone into hiding. Unfortunately for us the celebrations soon turned to tragedy as Frank and Alice were missing with Neville found nearly dead in their home. It was a nightmare for Edmond and I as the Aurors tried to find Frank and Alice, while I stayed at the hospital with Neville hoping that he would pull through this and hoping that his parents weren't dead, though later I wished they were. When they were found almost a week later, they were in such bad shape that the Healers initially thought that Frank would die from the injuries sustained during the torture that they endured. As Neville was on the road to a full recovery, the Healers gave me the bad news that Frank and Alice would never fully recover from their injuries. The damage to their brains was too great for them to recover from, though both of them miraculously survived the torture that they endured. I always secretly wished that Charles was more like Frank and now I get my wish, though not in the way that I wanted it to be.

When they caught the bastards who did this to my youngest son and his wife, forcing me and my husband to raise another child at our age, I didn't felt disgusted the way that they were proud of their deed and how that LeStrange woman acted like she was some kind of nobility when she was brought out to the courtroom. I felt that justice was served when the four of them were sentenced to Azkaban, since with the Dementors guarding the prison they'll all be forced to live with what they've done for the rest of their miserable lives. At least no other families will have to suffer the way that I've had, having three family members to visit at St. Mungo's long term care ward. After the trial I insisted that we go to visit St. Mungo's to visit our family that was still there, though Neville had improved so much that he was going to be discharged from the hospital the next day. When we arrived there we went straight to the locked ward where Frank, Alice and Charles were staying at. I told Frank and Alice that they're capturers were sent to Azkaban for life and let them know that Neville was okay, even though the Healers told me that they probably didn't understand what I was telling them. I didn't care though; I felt that they needed to be told about the recent turn of events. When I got to Charlie, I let him know that Frank and Alice would be staying with him here indefinitely. He gave me the same look that he normally did, which always broke my heart but Edmond told me that he would understand what we've been trying to tell him later. When later that day when we went by the children's ward to pick up Neville, it broke my heart when he starting asking for his mummy. We reluctantly took him to see his mum, but he started to walk towards her when he saw her and it broke our heart when she didn't reach out to grab him. The healers told us that she may not ever recognize her own son, which we then finally realized how serious their injuries were. A few days later when Frank came out of his coma, he never showed any recognition of his own son nor of us his own parents. When we brought Neville to our home, it finally hit me that he would be living with us until he graduated from school. I didn't know how to explain to an eighteen month old boy that his parents were never going to come home and that they would be spending out the rest of their lives in St. Mungo's, just like his Uncle Charlie. Of course as Neville grew I took him to visit his parents and Uncle Charlie at St. Mungo's. It was very hard for Edmond and I to explain why his parents couldn't live with him like other children's parents. We had to reassure him that his parents loved him and that they didn't abandon him because of what he did, though I did sometimes secretly thought that it had to do with some stupid prophecy, where he could have been the Boy Who Lived instead of that Potter boy. I even looked for signs of him being magical and was disappointed when it didn't show up immediately. I even took him to various Healers to see if he was a squib which would have been my worst fears confirmed to my great embarrassment that Frank and Alice were the way that they were because of him.

When Neville was five years old, we were called to St. Mungo's, since we were told that Charlie had taken a turn for the worse and probably wouldn't last the night. That night was the longest in our lives, since we had one of my friends come over to watch Neville while we watched our oldest son die. It was hard knowing that our other son and his wife were just a few beds away, while and only Alice came up to visit him at his bed looking upset while Frank was still in his bed. I knew that when Frank was attacked that he had lost the ability to walk, but his seeming to act indifferent to his brother still hurt, even though it wasn't Frank's fault the way that he was. When Charles finally did die Alice did look upset, but it could have been over the loss of a playmate not as a brother in law. From what the Healers told me that the two of them were close and they played together with the various toys that they had available to them, which were toys that the children on the children's ward didn't want to play with anymore. Unfortunately we couldn't take Alice and Frank to Charles's funeral, even though we wanted them to be there even if they didn't understand what was going on. Neville did attend though, but he didn't understand what was going on and at first he thought that one of his parents had died. Edmond had to reassure him that it was his uncle who died and not his parents. Neville thought about it, until we agreed to take him to visit his parents later on, since I wanted to go by and see how they were coping with the loss of Charles one of their fellow patients. When we finally brought him to visit his parents he finally was convinced that his mum and dad were still alive at St. Mungo's. We saw that Frank and Alice took the death of Charles very well; they acted as if Charles was never there with them.

Sometimes I did grow jealous of Edmond's relationship with Neville; he seemed to have a better relationship with them than I did. I did try to push Neville to show his magical abilities though, and that might have stressed him out. Edmond on the other hand would take him to the garden and show him about the various plants there, while trying to get him to open up about various things. When Neville was seven Edmond took sick and couldn't take Neville out to the garden anymore, I tried to take him out there but I couldn't tell him much about the plants there even though he loved it. When Edmond died, I felt empty inside as if someone had ripped a part of me out and Neville took his death pretty hard since I had let him stay in the room while he was dying. A decision I later regret making, since he kept on having nightmares about it afterwards. Of course I didn't expect too much of a reaction from Frank and Alice when they learned about Edmond's death. When Neville was eight he finally showed his magical abilities and I was so happy that I wished that Edmond and his parents could see it. Though I was so scared when Algie accidentally dropped him out of that window, I thought that he would either be dead or wind up like his parents. I was so pleased when he bounced out into the street that he was alive, well and magical. I even told his parents about it, though they didn't have much of a reaction at the news that their son was magical and not a squib. When Neville turned eleven years old and got his Hogwarts letter, I had a special party for him even taking him to St. Mungo's to tell his parents the news. Of course when he told them they were off in their own little world as usual, but of course at the end of the visit Alice gave Neville another candy wrapper, which she started to give him ever since he was little, though I did through out the ones that he got when he was younger, but now he just keeps them in a little box in his room. Of course his grades weren't stellar, except in herbology but I wanted him to be just like Frank and be top of his class in everything, plus I still secretly wanted him to prove that he should have been the Boy Who Lived and not Harry. In his fourth year, when it was later discovered that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was one of the loyal supporters of Voldemort who attacked Alice and Frank, putting them in St. Mungo's with Charles while he was still alive. Minerva and Albus told me that Barty Crouch Jr. had received the Dementor's Kiss and was now residing at St. Mungo's in the locked ward. When I heard that news I thought that justice was served, since he took my son and daughter in law's souls just like the Dementor took his. The next day I was sent word that there was a riot at St. Mungo's and Alice was a part of it. It appeared that some of the patients in the locked ward didn't appreciate having Barty Jr. in the same ward as them, since he was responsible for some of the patients being in there, including Frank and Alice. Well they showed their displeasure by beating him until he finally died, but of course no charges would be brought against them since the perpetrators were legally insane and not responsible for their actions. After that St. Mungo's made a decision to separate any convicted Death Eaters in a different room of the locked ward for their own safety. I was secretly proud of her for standing up to one of her attackers, though I didn't approve of the means though it was probably the only way that she knew how.

That summer when the Ministry refused to believe that Voldemort had returned, I wanted so much to remind them what happened the last time when the wizarding world were lulled into a false sense of security, I should know I have to live with the consequences for the rest of Frank and Alice's lives. Of course, Neville didn't want me to write a letter to any publication that would publish it, like _The Daily Prophet_ and _The Quibbler_ or to tell our tragic story on the wireless. Don't get me wrong he still supported Harry but he didn't want me to tell anyone about his parents and I had to respect his wishes. Over Christmas break I found out why he didn't want me to tell anyone, I found out that he never told anyone about them not even his friends that we ran into when we visited them in hospital. He reminded me so much of Frank who loved his brother, but at the same time was embarrassed by him; even I didn't want to admit that to him. Though at the end of the year I was proud of him when he helped out Harry Potter at the Ministry, even though it resulted in the death of a man, so that's why I wasn't too upset when he broke his father's wand in that battle. I used the meager funds that I received and bought him a brand new wand, too bad that Ollivander disappeared right after that, I hope that he doesn't wind up like Frank and Alice. Of course I did feel a bit of jealously when Harry made the front page news and was called the Chosen One, I sometimes felt that should have been Neville on there. Of course I was proud of him too being there too, even though he doesn't like to talk about it too much not even to his parents. This summer I told them how proud they would be of their son for helping Harry out in his mission, even though they still didn't show any sign that they understood what I was saying. His mum still gave Neville another candy wrapper which he took and put it with the others. I don't know why she gives them to him, since they're rubbish anyway but they're the only thing that his mum can give him now. When I put him on the train to go to school this year, I felt confident that he would be safe there and could take care of himself.

At the end of the year when Death Eaters invaded the castle I was proud that he took part in the battle too, though I was afraid that he would either get killed or wind up like his parents and uncle. When the entire wizarding world mourned the death of Albus Dumbledore, I had to go to St. Mungo's to sit with Frank since he had an infection, but since he could recover from it I didn't let Neville know about it. I wanted to attend his funeral even though Neville did, he probably thought that I didn't like being around a lot of people. When he got home he did tell me about it, even though I strongly encouraged him not to tell his parents since it might upset them and cause them to have to be sedated during our visit. He didn't tell him, even though I could tell that he wanted to badly. That summer though Neville was adamant about returning to school even though his safety wasn't guaranteed. I was pleased with his bravery for wanting to finish his education.

When the Ministry fell to the Death Eaters we were lucky that we were able to get Frank and Alice out of St. Mungo's and into a private clinic in Switzerland where they took them at no charge, since they were refugees from the war in England. I was proud of Neville when I learned that he was in charge of the resistance at Hogwarts after the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies teachers were confirmed Death Eaters. He even rebelled against the new Headmaster, Severus Snape who had killed Dumbledore with his own wand. Though over Christmas holiday when he came home he seemed to be quieter than usual and wouldn't tell me what was bothering him. I found out on Boxing Day when I found out that he had flooed to St. Mungo's and being curious as to why he would go there since his parents weren't there. I found out when he entered the nearly empty locked ward and saw in one of the beds a young man his age where Neville was standing at and apologizing for putting him in there in the first place and ruining his life. When I later returned home and waited for Neville to return which he did and told him that I did see him at the hospital. I asked him if he had tortured that young man whom he had visited in St. Mungo's. He told me no but that the new teachers, the Carrows had put the both of them in dention where they were there because of their rebellion against them. He told me that he had refused to torture the young man and when he had refused to do so they made him watch them torture that young man with the Cruciatius Curse until they had to take him to St. Mungo's for permanent spell damage. I had to reassure, despite his protests that he didn't put that young man, whom I later found out was named Michael, in there no more than he did his parents. At the last battle I was able to witness my grandson's bravery, even after everyone thought that Harry Potter was dead, even risking his own life for the cause. Unfortunately Harry's victory over Voldemort was bittersweet since a week later I had received word from the clinic in Switzerland that Frank was dying. Neville and I immediately rushed to the clinic to see Frank before he died, where we saw his wheelchair that he'd been using for the past few months. At his bedside there was a little board with the alphabet on it, which spoke the letter as soon as it was touched on the board.

It was there that Frank communicated his first and last words with us, he typed "I luv u," on the board which brought us both to tears, since that would be the first and the last time in a long while that he ever told us that he loved us.

When he died we had a small memorial service for him and saw that Alice had a similar board that she could communicate with. It was based on their progress that we decided to keep Alice there, no matter what the cost, even if I had to sell my own house to do it. I was proud of Neville when he was named the herbology professor at Hogwarts and we came by to visit Alice on a regular basis where she "talks" to us with her communications board, which is what we found out later is what Frank used to tell us that he loved us one last time. Now 25 years have gone by since the end of the war, Alice having been gone for three years and finally getting to see Neville get married to the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher after Hagrid finally died from a heart attack. Of course she was widowed with a five year old when they got married, but I'm happy for them especially now that Luna's given birth to my first biological great grandson. I'm finally going to bed after going home from the graveyard to visit my family. When I opened my eyes I finally saw the four men in my lives welcome me with open arms with Frank, Alice and Charles there acting like normal adults for the first time in a very long time. I could finally talk with them and have them understand me. I finally was able to embrace my husband, after being gone for a very long time. The next morning when Neville and Luna with their two children, Emily and Edmund came by to visit Neville's Gran, they found out that I had died. I had apparently died in my sleep throughout the night.

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**Author's Notes**: Please read and review. 


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